Goalkeeper Victor Valdes is on his way back to Man Utd in the short term after his loan spell at Standard Liege was cut short.

The 34-year-old Spaniard joined Belgian club Standard on loan in January having made only two Barclays Premier League appearances for United since he moved to Manchester in early 2015.

Valdes helped Standard beat Club Brugge to win the Belgian Cup in March, but Les Rouches have decided to give their younger players more opportunities as the league season draws to a close.

A statement published on standard.be, which also confirmed the early departure of Giannis Maniatis, read: “As we decided to give more playing time to the youth players at the end of the season and because they couldn’t be selected for medical reasons, the Spanish goalkeeper and the Greek midfielder have decided, in agreement with the club, to finish their loans at the end of this week.

“Standard Liege want to thank Giannis and Victor for everything they did for our club, especially during the successful campaign on the way to winning the Belgian Cup. We also wish them the best in the rest of their professional careers.”

With Barcelona Valdes won the Primera Division six times and the Champions League three times but a cruciate ligament injury suffered in March 2014 ended his career at the Nou Camp.